Letang Is The Truth wrote:amazon prime has really stepped up their game lately with streaming tv shows and movies

Better than Netflix?Not that it would be difficult.

i cant speak to that since i no longer use netflix but i feel like the last month they have made a concerted effort to improve the selection. i use amazon prime for shipping so this is a nice added bonus

I don't think anyone is doing anything regarding that yet. The FCC just ruled a few months ago that cable providers can begin encrypting every channel they offer PROVIDED that they offer a free box to watch the formerly unencrypted channels - again, the same things you get over an antenna.

Cable companies biggest concern over theft is typically that whatever you are using to "steal" the cable could muddy up the signal in the rest of the neighborhood. Sure, they want to stop people from stealing their service and make them pay for it. But the more immediate problem is that whatever "black box" device you're using could be introducing ingress. That could mean that FM radio or emergency service frequencies could be leaking into their pipes via the black box. You can't really use a black box any more.

Their systems are surprisingly unsophisticated. They can only detect devices on "nodes" for the most part - they know what area one of their boxes is being used in but not what house/account. If you took your cable box to your neighbors house its likely the cable company couldnt pick up on it.

Sarcastic wrote:So you're perfectly sure that even if you have paid just for the internet connection, you can get a splitter and stick another wire right in the TV and they won't know it?

I'm sure that I'd be more afraid of being prosecuted for downloading torrents than I would be for watching qam. But as I've said before, Comcast charges less money for internet AND basic cable than they do for internet only, so I think its a moot point.

Not sure that this is the right thread for this, but Viacom didn't re-sign their agreement with Netflix to carry their programming. This includes any Nick, MTV, etc. production like Dora the Explorer, Spongebob Squarepants, and so on.

If you're trying to watch sports live and maintain a high quality of viewing, then there is no suitable replacement unless you're going to a bar every night. If you do not invest much in the way of entertainment systems and don't care about that set-up, just find an HD stream.

Mac, that's the biggest issue I've had is watching any live hockey without satellite or cable. Most regular shows will stream somewhere, or you can buy them on iTunes etc., but not sports, obviously.

You can get GameCenter, but many of the Pens games are on national TV and won't be on GC. Also, the playoff games aren't available on GC (although NBC Sports will stream the games for cable customers).

There are many illicit ways of getting programs and sports, and I won't get into them here. However, one slightly less illegal way is to use a family member's cable or satellite ISP login to use the various apps and streaming channels like the NBC sports streaming, ESPN Live, HBO Go and so on.